Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a disorder in which patient have psychotic symptoms and social and occupational dysfuntion that persists atleast for 6 months.

Epidemiology:it affects 1% of population..and typical onset is early 20s for men and late 20s for females.
Riskfactors:
Positive family history is one of the most important risk factor for scizophrenia others include prenatal or postnatal factors such as difficulties,infections during prenancy or delivery or low premorbid IQ,cannabis use,migration to different culture.

Etiology:
exact etiology is unknown but ''dopamine hypothesis'' is most widely accepted theory according to this theory it is beleived that schizophrenia is due to hyperactivity in brain's dopimenergic pathway..and anothers fact that support this theory in that the drugs that block dopamine receptors shows great imporvement in this disease..postmortem studies have shown higher number of dopimergic receptors in subnuclei of cortex in schizophrenic patients.

According to DSM IV 2 or more symptoms should be present for atleas 6 months
Positive symptoms
1:Hallucinations
2:Delusion
3:bizzare behaviuor
4:Unusal thoughts,behaviour with social and occupatonal dysfuntion
Negative symptoms(5A's)
1:Anhedonia
2:Alogia
3:Apathy
4:Affect flattening
5:Asociality

There are five subtypes of schizophrenia(according to DSM IV)
1:paranoid(Paranoid delusions,frequent auditory hallucinations affect not flat)
2:Catatonia(motoric immobility,or excessive purpossless movement,maintence of rigid posture)
3:Disorganized(disorganized speech,behaviour,flat or inappropriate affect)
4:Undifferentiated(Delusions,Hallucinations,disorganized speech,catatonia behaviuor,negative symptoms not met the criteria for paranoid,catatonis or disorganized)
5:residual(resolved but some symptoms persist)

Treatment:
Antipsychotic agents:these include typical and atypical antipsychotic agents...
Psychosocial treatment:it includes stable reality oriented psychotherapy,family support, psycho-education,social and vocational skills training...